Keurig had $970 million in net sales in the quarter, down 5 percent from 2014. Brewer sales in particular took a significant hit, down 18 percent from the previous year.

Kelley did not mention, however, that Keurig will be cutting about 330 jobs over the next three years, the largest job cut in the company’s history, according to Suzanne DuLong, vice president of corporate communications.

Instead, Kelley said only that Keurig would “right size our organization to adapt to a rapidly evolving marketplace” as part of a “multi-year productivity program.”

“We have confidence in the long-term outlook for the Keurig system,” Kelley said.

DuLong told the Burlington Free Press in an email that Keurig would be reducing its North American workforce by roughly 5 percent, or about 330 employees, to generate about $300 million in cost savings over the next three years. DuLong could not say how many of those jobs would be cut in Vermont.

“Out of respect for our employees, we will not share regional or site-specific details about anticipated reductions until we’ve had the opportunity to discuss them with our employees,” she said. “We commit to sharing additional details about the expected impacts to employees in Vermont with you as soon as possible.”

“We are seeing some changes in the marketplace,” DuLong said later in an interview. “We do have some new brewer competition. That’s clear.”

Kelley said he expected the installed base of Keurig brewers to grow by 10 percent in 2015, which he characterized as healthy growth for most products, but disappointing for Keurig, given that the company’s brewer growth has averaged 20 to 30 percent per year over the past several years.

Kelley remained committed to ultimately growing the installed base of Keurig brewers to 50 million households.

“50 million households is a realistic goal and we’re not even half way there yet,” Kelley said.

Keurig Kold, the new cold brewing system that will compete with SodaStream and others, remains on track to launch in late September or early October, Kelley said. He said he was very excited to be introducing this “disruptive technology,” featuring Coca-Cola brand drinks.

Analysts have been less excited by Keurig Kold, citing its cost, expected to be around $300, and the cost of the individual pods, 99 cents to $1.29 for an 8-ounce drink.

Kelley said he expected to sell “hundreds of thousands” of the Keurig Kold systems in the first year after its launch.

This story was first published on August 5, 2015. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DanDambrosioVT.